Class of '77
October 1999

Dear Members of the Class of 1977,

Greetings from the Hill.

First of all, congratulations to all the members of our great class! When Gustavus really needed us, we really came through, 202 members (out of 435) of our class contributed to the Gustavus Fund for a 45% giving record and nearly $29,000 in unrestricted funds. It's an impressive record and a job well done!

It's October 27 and it's one of those fall days at Gustavus that we all remember (in a vain attempt to forget about winter!) with the sun shining and the temps in the 70's. The Gusties have just returned from a short mid-term break and are heading into the final stretch of the fall semester. The end of the fall sports season and the beginning of the winter sports is at hand. End of the semester recitals and concerts and lectures fill the schedule, while Thanksgiving, Christmas in Christ Chapel and finals quickly approach.

It's amazing how much more quickly each succeeding year passes and how much younger each group of freshmen look.

On the horizon: the new campus center is almost complete thanks to last year's tornado which pushed us into an early ground-breaking. The final touches of brick and Kasota Stone facing are complete and the towering main entrance is open. It still feels like I'm visiting another campus when I walk through the new facility. Its openness is an impressive addition to the campus. Visitors to the campus will walk into the main entrance and be welcomed by the campus information center, the entrance to the Admission Office and the entrance to the new dining room, named appropriately after Ma Young

It's pretty wild. The new dining service is incredible. The easiest description is that it is like an up-scale food court in a very nice shopping center. The students have a choice of up to 20 entrees at one time. They choose what they want and how much they want. Their ID's have a declining balance magnetic stripe on the back that keeps track of what they have purchased. My kids love to eat there and have the opportunity to select what they want. It's a pretty big deal for a 9 and a 12-year old. The dining room is a mix of small and large tables, giving a more intimate feeling to the large room (nearly 50% larger than the former dining hall.) Windows wrap from the east side overlooking the valley to the north side toward Co-ed. Even the Co-ed parking lot tundra (remember the buried cars from the storm in January 1975?) has had a facelift. Rows of trees and grass now separate the rows of cars, breaking up the tundra look. An additional small parking lot for visitors was added where the field house used to stand, opening more room for cars in the new lot.

The area we all knew as the dining service is now closed off and under construction as the second phase of the project is underway. The former dining rooms (with all those butter pats removed from the tiled ceiling) is quickly becoming the new offices for Admission and the Dean of Students. The old kitchen area will soon become smaller meeting spaces and private dining rooms. The lower level of the Book Mark, the post office and the SUM rooms will become meeting rooms and offices for a host of student organizations.

The rest of the campus looks great and the feel around the campus is (finally) not one of recovery. We're back to doing what we need to do. Work has begun on new soccer fields to be located near the tennis bubble to the northeast of campus and a new running track for track and field events is in the works.

While I am on the campus every day, it's tough to stand back and remember what had taken place over the past 18 months. The entrance to the campus is still a bit of a shock with the old trees missing from the Old Main hill, but the new trees are coming along pretty well. In a few years, even the hill will look right again. And the rock, of course, is still in place.

Thanks for all of your help, cards and calls since the tornado. It hit the campus pretty hard, but we found out that we can hit back even harder.

Other Campus News:

Gustavus Adolphus College Ranked Among the Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Gustavus Adolphus College is once again ranked among the best of all national liberal

arts colleges in U.S. News and World Report's 13th annual "America's Best Colleges" rankings. Gustavus is again in the top 80 of the overall quality listings for national liberal arts colleges. Ranked again in the second tier in the national liberal arts college category, Gustavus is one of only two Minnesota colleges included in the 38-college tier two listing and one of four Minnesota colleges ranked in the top 80. Gustavus is also included in the Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine list of "100 great values" among the nation's 1,600 private schools. The "Private Colleges Worth the Price" article appears in the September 1999 magazine. Gustavus is one of only four Minnesota colleges named a Top 100 Value in Private Colleges. The list is based on academic and financial measures.

Some exciting changes are in store for class reunions. Starting next year, all class reunions, except for the 50-Year Club and the 50th Anniversary Class will be held in the fall at Homecoming, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, September 29 & 30, 2000. Classes celebrating reunions at Homecoming will include ’55, ’60, ’65, ’70, ’75, ’80, ’85, ’90 & ’95. Reunion dates for the 50-Year Club and the Class of 1950 are May 26 & 27, 2000, Commencement Weekend.

The Gustavus Library Associates Once upon a holiday … A Royal Affair, is Saturday, November 13 at the Radisson South Hotel, Bloomington. Information and registration material was inserted in the Summer Quarterly.

Christmas in Christ Chapel, Even so, come, Lord Jesus, is December 3-5. Tickets only available for Friday and Sunday evenings. Contact Office of Public Affairs, 507-933-7520.

Alumni Chapters will be meeting again this year so mark your calendars today: Washington, DC, November 5; Boston, November 6; Chicago, December 11; Atlanta, January 31; Marco Island, February 5; Tucson, February 7; Phoenix, February 8; Sun City, February 9; Seattle, March 3; Bay Area, March 4; Los Angeles, March 5; San Diego, March 6; Denver, March 7.

ALUMNILLENNIUM 2000 - The Gustavus Artist Series -- For 30 years, the Artist Series has brought world-class artists to campus for performances, exhibitions and residencies. This year the tables turn as the Series features and celebrates the accomplishments of our alumni artists as they enter the new millennium, ALUMNILLENNIUM 2000. The Fall Series opened September 18 with the jazz trio October, featuring Andrew Benson ’95, Brian Rowe ’95 and Nik Lindell ’95; followed by the music of Steve Heitzeg ’82, on September 25. David Esbjornson ’75 directed a one-woman Virginia Woolf play on October 8; organist Timothy Strand ’82 presents his recital on November 14; and tenor Mark Thomsen ’78 will present a vocal recital on November 21. Spring semester events include an alumni art exhibiton in February; a concert by Neal Hagberg ’81 and Leandra Peak ’83 on February 19; pianist Stephen Carlson ’92 on March 4; and Peter Krause ’87, better known as Casey McCall on ABC's SPORTS NIGHT, will be in residency in April. Other events may be scheduled through the fall of 2000 as well. Ticket information and complete schedule will be posted to the Fine Arts Calendar on the Gustavus website.

Following extensive work to Christ Chapel's magnificent pipe organ this summer, a three-concert series of organ recitals was planned for the fall. Christ Chapel Organist, Dr. David Fienen opened the series with Organ Works by Charles-Marie Widor on October 10. A recital by Volodymyr Koshuba, Organist of the Kiev Concert Hall of Organ and Chamber Music and the

Ukraine's "Honored Artist" for 1998, was presented on November 4. The final recital, mentioned in the ALUMNILLENNIUM 2000, is a recital by Timothy Strand ’82, Organist and Music Director for St. Luke's Episcopal in Minneapolis, on November 14, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Fienen and Strand recitals are free of charge.

SMARTERsource is a new Web-based resume service exclusively for the students and alumni of Minnesota Private Colleges. The site is a job-searching tool for current students seeking internships or part-time employment, new or recent graduates launching a career, or alumni seeking new positions or career changes. The service lists resumes in more than a dozen categories. Check out this site at www.mn-colleges.org.

As of June 1, 2000, the Career Center will destroy all credential files created on or before June 1, 1974. Credential files include letters of recommendation and/or student teacher evaluations. If you do not wish your file to be destroyed, please contact the Career Center by May 1, 2000, at 507-933-7586; fax 507-933-6277, or e-mail career-center@gustavus.edu.

It's great to hear from all of you and to find out what you are doing with your lives. However, I'd really love to hear from many of you who haven't been included in the class news section recently. But to do that, we need to hear from you. We need to hear from everyone. Any news is welcome.

Missing In Action:

We have quite a list of "lost" members. Here's part of the list, if you know where they are, please let me know.

Si and I will continue to work together to gather news, etc., from our class and get that info out to you. But again, if we don't hear from you, we can't write about you.

And remember also that the Gustavus Fund continues to run. I believe we can hit a 50% giving percentage and top $30,000 this year. All gifts you give are credited to our class in the Fund. Help us reach our goal of involving more of our class in the great work continuing at Gustavus. MORE THAN EVER, Gustavus needs our help. If you wish, you can give directly to the new track or to planting new trees. These gifts, if received before January 31, 2000, will also go towards a challenge grant made to Gustavus by the Kresge Foundation. I know the Development folks will be happy to see those gifts come in.

Thanks again for all your contributions and your efforts to help Build a Greater Gustavus. It's a great place that, with your help, is getting better each day.